Passing Comments
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Arms and the (Other) Men
THAT signal arms and winkers present special advan tages because their significance cannot be mistaken by night or day, is claimed by a reader as a result of experiences he has had on the road. He states that, in hot weather, van drivers on country roads near the town in which he lives often shed their jackets and cool themselves by sticking their bare elbows out of the off-side windows. At a distance an elbow can easily be mistaken for a turn-right hand signal, which causes following traffic to slow down.
This might be referred to as elbowing other drivers out of the way, but not intentionally.
Trojan Prospects
WELCOMING representatives of the Press recently to an exhibition of the current range of Trojan vehicles and other products, Mr. P. J. Agg, managing director of Trojan, Ltd., revealed that the present association with the Clinton Engines Corporation, Michigan, U.S.A., in the sale of chainsaws manufactured by the American firm, will be extended to cover outboard motors and industrial engines.
a6 Trojan commercial vehicle output is now confined solely to their 1-ton and 25-cwt. forward-control models. Stocks of the 1-ton normal-control type are being sold off at a reduced price. Much is expected of the recently introduced Rural Bus employing the 25-cwt. chassis. This chassis is the basis for a timber-bodied platform truck which was also on show.
Free Enterprise
MANUFACTURERS of ticket-issuing machines are missing a big chance in Tanganyika, to judge by a letter from the Bishop of South-West Tanganyika to friends in England. Referring to a journey in his Land-Rover from his diocese to Dar-es-Salaam, he writes: "At one point I picked up a passenger who was tired of waiting for the Indian bus that was taking him into Morogoro. The driver and his mate were seated in the road behind the bus and before them was spread a vast number of coppers which they were neatly stacking into shillings. It would be unreasonable to pay all this wealth over to the owner, so they were reckoning up what would be an adequate proportion of the fares to give to him."
'he Luck of the Draw
'HE reactions of applicants when they have to attend licensing inquiries varies considerably, principally :cording to the extent of their experience at such sessions the past. Certainly, those who have suffered some form !merciless cross-examination can be excused for not wantg to make a repeat appearance.
To those who are unfamiliar with traffic courts, the very tildings in which they are held can sometimes be intimiiting. Perhaps the most definitely business-tribunal atmo'here is seen in the usually rather severe rooms attached the headquarters of various Licensing Authorities but herwise the venues chosen tend to vary considerably. An applicant who has, perhaps, enjoyed the rather homely mosphere of the little court-room behind the police station Keswick, can be decidedly overcome by the trappings
say, Chester Castle, with its sombre decorations and .aperies, the judge's seat, the dock, the witnesses' room id all the legal trimmings.
A different note was struck, earlier this month, at Blackirn where those attending were greeted by the forbidding ght of two constables acting as sentinels at the traffic'tut entrance. However, it turned out that their principal nction was to keep at bay customers destined for other urt-rooms who appeared to be involved in much more itous occupations than haulage. With the aid of the presentatives of the law the hearing proceeded according programme, despite decidedly shrill voices and other )ises off-Stage.
Sold on Smallness
I ACK of parking space was a major incentive for the
Singer Sewing Machine Co., Long Beach, California, U.S.A., to purchase six Thames 5-cwt. vans for use by salesmen whose job it is to carry equipment around for demonstration to likely customers. Much smaller than Americanmade vans which might otherwise have been obtained, they have been enthusiastically received because they can be parked in spaces into which vehicles of normal American dimensions could not be manceuvred. This undoubtedly saves busy salesmen much time.
Low initial cost and reduced running expenses were also attractive to the company, whilst the salesmen are satisfied with their performance and handling qualities. Actually the fuel-consumption rate represents an appreciable saving against the use of larger vehicles.
A correspondent in California, however, states that the major obstacle in the way of British manufacturers' achieving larger sales in America is the paucity of spares and service facilities, although in the Long Beach and Los Angeles areas the position is better than in other parts, because there are many dealers with franchises for British makes.
British makers, of course, are by now well aware of the fact that comprehensive after-sales facilities are a prerequisite to selling vehicles in any numbers. There would therefore seem to be wide scope for developing sales in America of British light vans, if the experience of the Singer concern is any indication, once suitable dealerships are set up.